Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Opposite of a Baby Shower

The most astonishing thing for new parents is how much equipment one small creature the size of a flour sack can require.

The most astonishing thing for no longer quite new parents is how quickly that equipment becomes obsolete.

It's all very well to know in your head that babies triple their birthweight in the first year, but every time you haul a new toddler past a newborn, you are shocked by it all over again. Ten months ago, this was that. And the tripling of size doesn't even begin to cover the mental growth.

Suddenly those arms and legs that waved vaguely in the air have become capable of scaling furniture, opening doors, and toppling you over by grabbing your legs in just the wrong spot. Suddenly this child who you spent hours of labor convincing to get a good suck is crawling into your lap and grabbing at your shirt. You start needing to spell certain words.

So, out with the old. I have no patience with swings and bouncy seats and such, but there's the baby bathtub and two carseats and three bags of baby clothes and the nursing pillows. The mei tais that were in constant use a few months ago only get pulled out for really bad days of teething now, but they'll hang on for a bit longer. The stroller and high chairs and playpens/cribs should last us awhile yet. But not long. Toddlers last a little longer than newborns, but not much.